We had a most enjoyable Easter weekend. It was full of God’s goodness all around!
We bought each kid a Bible for their basket. You know it’s time for a four year old to have a Bible when he begs and begs for one. Robbie was so cute. He said “Oh look, a book.” When I told him it was a Bible, he said “For me??” It was so sweet!
I just wanted to share something that has been heavy on my heart. I had a conversation with my 11 year old daughter Amariah a couple of weeks ago. I don’t remember what we were originally discussing, but I started talking about the rapture. This is how our little conversation went:
Me: That’s how it’ll be when the rapture takes place.
A: What? What are you talking about?
Me: You know, the rapture… when Jesus comes back…
A: What?? He’s coming back where?
Me: To this earth. I’m very concerned at this point!
A: What? Jesus is coming back to the earth?
This conversation is happening as we’re driving down the road. I just about ran off the road when she said this. I had to whip my head around and see if she was serious.
Haven’t we talked about this before?!? In her 11 years existence, has this not been mentioned? Did I just assume that since I knew about it, she would too? Didn’t her Sunday school teachers teach her about this?? Then it hit me. Whose responsibility is it to teach her?
God has been heavily convicting me of a family devotion time for quite a few more years than I care to mention. I’m just an extremely slow learner! I will be honest in saying that I waited patiently, thinking that the head of the household should start it. I mentioned to Rich many times how I wish we would set aside a time when our family would turn everything off, sit with our Bibles, and share with one another. I laugh now when I think about how collectedly I told him one evening that we were having a Bible study that night and if he wanted to join us, he was more than welcome.
We’ve come such a long way since that first night. We’ve learned that sometimes you just have to stop in the middle of the devotion and pray. We’ve learned to ask specific questions to each kid so one kid doesn’t answer all the questions. Three year olds can be quite disruptive during a Bible study, but works out when the three year old is put in front of the TV during this time. We now all have prayer journals that we use. After the devotion is over, everyone goes to their quiet spot in the house and writes out prayers to God. I’ll never forget the first time we used the prayer journal… I had to make Amariah stop writing after four full pages and go to bed!
Yes, we have come a long way, but we are so far from where we should be. We have been very inconsistent. We allow other things to pop up and invade our time. This is where the conviction has been heavy this past year. Before the Extraordinary Women’s conference I went to in March, I was praying for God to show me exactly what it is I need to be doing for Him. Boy, oh Boy, did he ever whap me upside the head and show me what I was doing wrong!
So. Please pray for the Berry
· Four year old Robbie will now be joining us so he can learn right along with the other kids.
· We WILL start our devotion as soon as the kids are done with their homework, before we have dinner and let the night settle in.
· We WILL make Monday, Tuesday and Thursday our devotion days.
· We will scratch where we left off and start anew in Romans with basic Christianity.
Hm… sounds simple when I put it in writing. Life is sometimes not as forgiving as a written list. But I know with God leading us, IT CAN BE DONE!
Even though most times I don’t like it at the time, I am grateful for the convictions that God places on my heart, in my mind because I know He is doing that out of love and He truly desires the best for me and my family.
4 comments:
Oh Angie! How you've touched on sthg soo important and the burden of my own heart!! This is the prayer of my soul for my family and I think your suggestions as to when and how to have family devotions are excellent!
I will pray for yours and please pray that I along with my DH, will have a deeper family Bible study time together.
Hugs
Christine
I loved what you wrote and desire to do with your kids. Yes, don't wait for DH. I think sometimes as wives we want our men to lead everything. Well, mother's are usually the ones with the kids most the time, they are the onces to lead the children in the daily devotions. My DH never did that that lead, but I finally learned to after years of frustration. My children are grown now, and they began teaching and reading the KJV of the Bible to their children when they were only 2 years old. My 6 year old granddaughter knows the old testament like any story book. I don't know why people don't realize children can learn the Bible as well as other story books. They are close to God because of their innocence. They accept what they hear when you also have faith! That is why the bible tells us as partents to talk about Him when we walk along in life. Be faithful and the LORD will bless you!
Isn't it funny how sometimes we need a good whack upside the head to get us on track! I can totally relate. "Things" so easily get in the way. We need to buffet ourselves daily as we fight the spiritual forces that so easily seem to pull us from where we need to be.
Keep on keeping on!
Kim
It is sad that we take for granted what we think our children know and do not know....yes it is our responsiblity! And yet it is so hard some times. God does have a plan for each and every one of us, and sometimes it takes that whap up side the head to get us started and cranked up! With God as your guide and leader, your family will persevere!
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